Hands Down
by KlutzY
Summary: [CHAPTER 9 FINALLY UP! READ AND REVIEW!] mm of course...Basically Michael's POV on the end of Princess in Love... but what happens when one small difference changes everything?
1. Damaged Eardrums and A New Revelation

**Hands Down**

**A/N: Yes, another story! I was planning on taking a little break with my writing, but that didn't work, did it? I just got this wonderful idea for a Michael POV story (just Michael, no Mia) and I couldn't resist. So... here we are.**

**Time period: It starts when Michael finds out that Mia is the one giving him the letters. **

**It sounds really un-original and typical, but it's not. I promise you its not, it just starts out that way.  On with the story...**

Chapter One

Damaged Eardrums and New Revelations

"I can't believe you don't know who sent you these!" my sister Lilly exclaimed, holding the love notes I had received over a week before. I stared at her, puzzled, and continued to type in some random html onto my brand new laptop. 

"And you know who sent them?" I asked her curiously, my fingers moving over the keyboard rapidly. I doubted she knew, but hey, it was worth a shot.

"Yes," she said simply. That caught my attention.

"You do?" I asked, disbelievingly. How would she know?

"Of course I do."

"And...?" It was becoming frustrating. Why did she make it so difficult for me to get valuable information? Believe me, I really wanted to know who wrote them, and the fact that Lilly knew something made me curious.

"Mia!"

_Mmmmmmmm__...Mia... wait, what?_

"What about her?"

"SHE SENT YOU THE NOTES!" Lilly said, too loud for my poor, poor eardrums. You would think I was used to her screaming. Wait a minute, did she say...

"M-Mia sent me them?" I asked, stuttering. I couldn't believe it. Mia?! The girl who I've been in love with for, oh, let's see, pretty much my entire life. Scratch the time I thought girls had cooties.

"Yes, you dolt, Mia!" She must have seen that dazed look that comes whenever I think about Mia because she finished, "And I know you like her too."

That must have been the understatement of the year.

She stomped out of my room, satisfied she left seeming smart and superior. She always needs to feel smart and superior. It can be very annoying at times.

I tried to comprehend what she just told me. Mia liked me? No, she _loved me (her own words, not mine) if anything that Lilly said was true. I quickly forgot about my laptop and flopped onto my bed, staring up at the plastic stars on my ceiling. Was Lilly telling the truth, or was she lying? I wouldn't be surprised if she was lying. She has this crazy idea that Mia likes me back and she's always trying to set us up, which always ends up embarrassing me to death. But if what she said was correct, if Mia __had been sending me those cards, then she had been right all this time. _

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a bitter person (or the most part), but I hate it when Lilly's right about something, because then she always feels the need to rub it in my face. Ah... sisters, hate to love 'em, love to hate 'em.

I stayed sprawled on my bed, smiling to myself. If she _was right, then Mia loved me. Oh, what a thought. I hoped and hoped she was right._

But even if Mia did write the cards, how would she ever found out I liked her? I knew Mia would never have the courage to tell me herself, so I would have to tell her. But how? I can't just go up to her and say, "Hey, I like you too." It just doesn't seem right.

And what about Kenny? I couldn't just go behind his back like that, right? I mean, sure he's a freshman. And he's not the brightest kid in the world. But he doesn't deserve to have his girlfriend stolen from him... or to be cheated on.

I forgot about Kenny. I didn't feel like dealing with him right then. I'd figure it out. 

But at the moment I needed an idea. I had to make it special, original, my own.

And then it came to me. 

I smiled to myself and grabbed my laptop, getting to work right away. I would need to finish by tomorrow morning.

I woke up the next morning sprawled across my bed, my head resting on my laptop, which was still on. I must have fallen asleep. I looked at the clock (which read 7:30 a.m.) anxiously as I jumped up out of bed and grabbed an empty Sony disc off my desk, which had become cluttered. I sighed. I would clean it later. I changed into a simple t-shirt and a pair of jeans absentmindedly.

I popped the disc into the drive and double checked my work before I converted it onto the disc.

...98%...99%.............100%

The compact computer _binged _loudly when it was done. I took the disc out of the drive and shoved it into a case impatiently, running down the hall into the kitchen, my book-bag slung across my shoulder.

"What's up with you?" Lilly asked, swallowing a piece of pancake.

"Nothing," I said innocently.

I sat down and grabbed some food, shoving it into my mouth. I felt my family staring at me and looked up.

"Hungry?" my Mother asked. "Here, have some more pancakes..." 

"Sorry Mom, no can do, gotta catch the subway," I replied, rising from the table.

"You've got time..." she said. She sounded disappointed that her "family breakfasts" weren't going as nicely as she planned.

"Yeah, but I have to get there early. I have to do some stuff for our booth. You comin' Lil? Or are you catching a ride with Mia?"

"Mia," she said simply. I took that as a signal to leave, and ran out the door into the cold December weather.

And so began the worst day of my life.

**A/N: There's the first chapter! Tell me if I should continue.**


	2. Cherries and Deadly Manicures

A/N: I guess that's a _continue_ then? No problem. I seriously hope this doesn't get confusing because I suck at explaining things...  
Metalhead13: Calm down, Mo, honestly. And no, you don't know what's going to happen. I've heard your opinion and you are wrong. Kind of...  
Kasagi Onaso: Here's more! Hope you like it!  
XxPunkHottiexX: what's wrong? I would try to explain, but I have no idea what you're confused about...I hope upon hope this chapter clears it up for you...  
saima: you remind me of my friend up there Metalhead13^^ with the parole officer thing...seriously she had my Dad lmao one day because she was telling him how her "parole officer" told her not to murder her siblings.  
Noire1: Sure!  
sugarbear14: yeah that's a bit of a mistake isn't it? I need to go fix that now...the Moscovitz's are going to have some nice old pancakes...  
LstCharmed1: yeah yeah yeah...wait you're confusing me too! We're both confused! That's probably not a good thing... thanks so much I will continue!  
Sonja: Well, if you read the third book you already know...but this chappie ends differently than the book hence leading it into an actual plot [if all goes well]. And thank YOU!  
Roxy-punk-princess: Yes, it does. I love writing him rather than Mia for some reason. Probably because he's a computer nerd like me.  
Gina: You do? I never did like how I write. I still don't. I always think that my chapters are too short... thanks!  
Jackie: yes, you guys rock, always reviewing my stories that I think aren't worth anything and BAM! I get tons of reviews. I love you guys :)  
RosesRRed: YES! You a fan? I actually only heard 2 songs and I love them already...

Meggin: Ok, I'm not exactly sure that you're Meg and I highly doubt it at this point but if you are...YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

And Meg, if you're out there reading this...You're such a great author, one of my favorites! I've always loved to write and you pretty much inspired me! You rock!

Ok, now that I'm done with my extremely long author's note, on with the chapter.

Chapter 2 – Cherries and Deadly Manicures

I sat in homeroom, impatiently awaiting the Winter Carnival. Homeroom was our only class that day, if you can even consider homeroom a class. It's just where you sit around talking and all that. Josh Richter is in our homeroom with all his jock friends, so we (or they) are always out of control. Then the teacher takes attendance and you leave, simple as that. I have no friends in homeroom, besides Felix. Sure, I have _friends_, I'm the treasurer of the computer club, and I'm not completely anti-social. There's Matt, Judith, Felix, and, well, okay, so maybe I'm a little anti-social. And Mia, of course. Even if she didn't write that note, I'm pretty sure we're at least friends. I couldn't help thinking that if Lilly was wrong, we probably wouldn't remain friends very long, either way.

One way I hoped for, another I tried to avoid thinking about, but I couldn't help it.

"Hey Moscovitz, what's up with you?" Felix asked, eyeing me with a puzzled expression. I must have looked horrible, I felt like I was going to throw up. 

"Huh?" I replied, ever so intelligently.

"Dude, you look...not right. What's going on?"

"Nothing..." I lied. He looked at me disbelievingly.

"This doesn't have anything to do with the princess, does it?" I felt my entire face start to turn a lovely shade of scarlet as I stared down at my _JavaScript for Dummies book I had brought with me that day. "Yeah, go ahead; act like you don't have a thing for her. I _know_ you do. Isn't she going out with Kenny or something; the anime-obsessed one?" I tried not to panic. Felix was my friend, but I really didn't want him, or anyone for that matter, knowing about my little secret love for _the princess_._

"Listen, don't tell anyone, alright?" I whispered across to him, hoping only he could hear me and no one else.

"Of course not...so it's about her?"

_RING_

The bell sounded, resulting in the entire school bursting out of the classroom doors, flooding into the hallway. 

I walked over to my locker, opening my grades in the process, interested slightly. I scanned my eyes quickly across the paper: A's for the most part, a few B's scattered here and there. That's what I get for obsessing so much over Mia, less effort in school. Not that I cared about a few lousy B's. My parents might've been a bit disappointed, giving me a lecture on senioritis, and then psycho-analyze me. My parents' standards are a little to high. I think they're so used to me and Lily getting straight A's, they flat out expect it.

The I remembered Mia's Algebra grade, the one that I was partially responsible for, thanks to me helping her in G&T. I hoped she got something better than an F.

I mean, honestly, you would think her step-father would cut her a little slack or something. But Mr. G doesn't pick favorites.

I walked over to her as confidently as possible, stuffing my grades into my pockets. I arrived beside her and picked up a yellow rose that fell out of her locker. _Who is that from? What is it for? I couldn't help but wonder. _

She gaped at me. "Here. This just fell out of your locker." She took it, dazed. I guess she thought that it was from me. I hoped she wasn't disgusted by the thought, which was my first thought. I hoped she was _hoping_ it was from me. I wished I _had_ been giving her those roses. What a genius idea it would have been.

She read it over quickly. To interrupt the silence, I asked, "Well? What's the verdict?" referring to her algebra grade. She stared at me blankly, obviously not understanding what the hell I meant.

I love her, I really do. But she can be really _really_ dense sometimes.

"What did you get in Algebra?" I asked, slowly, hoping she would understand. 

She responded by opening up the printout, and smiled from ear to ear.

Suddenly, before I even realized what was going on, she threw her arms around my neck, shrieking "Wheeeeee!" I smiled, not being able to help it, and smelt her hair in the process.

It smelled like cherries. I like cherries.

I know it was a completely innocent hug, not showing any indication of how she felt about me, but it was still extremely enjoyable.

Imagine how enjoyable a kiss from her would be.  
_mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm___

Then she pulled away, to my disappointment, and without a word, stuffed her grades into her locker. 

I felt someone pulling hard on my arm and turned around to be dragged away Judith.

"Come _on," she whined. "You're already late!" I cringed. Her just-manicured nails were digging into my arm. I wouldn't have been surprised if she broke the skin._

I followed her, not wanting to argue with her. I could tell she was already in a bad mood. People always seemed to make her cranky. I felt bad for her poor, poor boyfriend who had to take her to the dance that night.

She kept digging her nails into my arm until she flung me into a seat by one of the computers.  Matt turned his head and laughed at the look on face as I rubbed my arm.

"Judith," I said, "should not get manicures. They cause too much pain on our part." Matt nodded in agreement and continued to boot up one of the age-old pieces of crap that they actually expected us to use. The company isn't even in use anymore. They were selling illegal software and went out of business.

Great, just what we need, illegal software.

I booted the computer I was seated at, waiting as patiently as I could. A line was starting to form, waiting to play the game that had taken up so much of our free time to create. I had a feeling this would be a hit.

That's because we used a different program to show to the teachers. Heh heh.

I got up once it was ready, hoping and hoping that Mia would come to the booth, like she had promised. Because now I had more I wanted to show her, other than the program.

I watched the other students patiently waiting for her to come, worrying she might have forgotten.

Then I saw her.

A/N:...I know I know...sort of a cliffhanger. It's not that bad though, is it? It's still pretty much like the book, but it will change (eventually, I hope). READ AND REVIEW!


	3. Misunderstandings and Major Traffic

RosesRRed1: I updated! And yes, I really should since I _love_ all the songs I have heard. Maybe I'll get their CD next weekend...  
Sonja: I'm writing! Writing as fast as I can! You're very welcome!  
Noire1: I was hoping for it to be realistic :) Here's more for you!  
Maia4ever: Yeah I'll keep writing. I promise...  
Saima: Wicked... that's such a great word.  
aPPle-FrrEAk: You're sick? My best friend was sick (Metalhead13, the crazy one) not too long ago. Feel better! And thanks for reviewing!  
Scupo : Continuing!  
Gina: Thanks! Here it is!  
Ugly-Duckling06: Yes they do! Yes, it is!

Thanks for all the positive feedback! Here's another chapter, as I promised!

Chapter 3 – Misunderstandings and Major Traffic

Previously

I watched the other students, patiently waiting for her to come, worrying have might have forgotten.

And then I saw her.

There she stood, at the end of the line, looking nervous and annoyed at the same time. Did she know? Was she repulsed by me? Or was she just annoyed by something else?

I wiped all doubts from my mind and shouted, "Come on up!" She walked past the rest of the line, greeted by grumbling and groaning from everyone else. I didn't care. They could wait all eternity for the stupid game for all I care. Mia's more important than they'll ever be.

She finally arrived at the front of the line. "Here, Mia, sit at this one." I pulled out the chair of the computer with the disc installed, careful to use her first name. She sat and waited while I stood behind her, biting my lip. Hard. 

"Wait, what are you doing?" Judith asked, giving me an evil stare. Wow, she was more irritated than I thought. Her poor, poor boyfriend.

"No, that's okay. I have a special one for her," I said simply. She shrugged and returned to work. The screen flickered, and the program I had spent hours on the night before came on. I watched the all too familiar castle and the garden with the roses. I tapped my foot as the banner waved across the screen, waiting for it to stop.

My heart was pounding.

The golden script finally became legible.

_Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
You may not know it  
But I love you, too_

Okay, I admit it. It's not my best work. Believe me, I can do much better than this. But remember, this was all compiled at 3 a.m. None of it is my best work, except maybe the garden part. But that took hours.

And she did the exact thing I was dreading. 

She jumped out of her chair and screamed, knocking the chair onto my feet. She screamed like the thought of me loving her was the most repulsive, disgusting thing in the world. And right then, my heart was in my throat. I probably would have thrown it up if it was physically possible. 

I heard laughing around me. I knew they had no idea what was going on. They probably thought she saw Mr. Stewart in his dress or something. But I knew she was screaming for a whole other reason, one that wasn't very comforting to me.

_She didn't send them. She didn't send the cards._ It ran through my head over and over until my head started to hurt, overflowed with information.

She quickly grabbed her friend Tina roughly by the arm and run away, causing the poor girl to shriek and trip over several feet. "Mia," I called, hoping to salvage the situation somehow. She ignored me. I grabbed her arm, trying to get her to stop, and she pulled away. "Get off!" she cried, jerking away. I cringed.

I turned away and rubbed my forehead, collapsing into a nearby chair. I was about to cry. Honestly, I haven't cried in years. Matt looked at me quizzically, his eyebrows furrowed. "You mean it's true?" he asked, looking from me to the computer screen. The banner was still rolling solemnly in the digital wind.

"What's true?" I asked, not bothering to look up.

"You have a thing for Mia Thermopolis?"

"Yeah—wait...you mean you heard this somewhere else?"

"Well, we all sort of knew. It was sort of obvious the way your face lit up whenever she was around. Same goes for her, too."

"No, actually it doesn't. She hates me. She just ran away in horror at the thought of me liking her." I didn't say _love_. Matt knew I had a thing for her. He didn't need to know anything else.

"Really? 'Cause I could've sworn she liked you. I've been waiting for her to break up with—what's his name? Kenny?—for a while now."

I shrugged and put my head in my hands. I needed some peace and quiet.

"Listen, I'm going home. Tell Judith I'm sick or something." Matt looked at me oddly, and then shrugged.

"Sure, no problem."

I fished my keys out my pockets and unlocked the door, opening quietly, trying my best not to alert Pavlov, who I didn't want to come bounding toward the door. I didn't need him running out the door on me. Not right then. I spotted my mother who was, to my surprise, sitting on the couch reading a book. She was usually at work at this time.

"Michael, what are you doing home? Aren't you supposed to be at the Winter Carnival?" she asked.

"Yeah, well, I'm not feeling all that great. I think I'll just stay home the rest of the day," I replied, hanging my coat in the closet.

"Aren't you going to the Nondenominational Winter Dance?"

"Naw, it's not like I have an obligation. I have no date," I said, walking into my room. She looked like she was about to psycho-analyze me, but gave it a second thought and shrugged, returning to her book. 

The phone's shrill ringing ran throughout my room, waking me to my dismay. I had fallen asleep, sprawled across my bed. Lilly had came back not too long ago, asking me what I had done to Mia. I explained, as calmly as I could, that I simply did what Lilly told me to do, and she ran away in horror. Lilly shook her head in disbelief. "She must have misunderstood," she told me. "Well at least she broke up with Kenny," I heard her mutter under her breath." _Thank God, I thought to myself, not that it mattered all that much._

I picked up the phone. "Hello?" I said groggily, barely able to keep my eyes open.

"Mia's here!" I heard Lilly shriek.

"What?"

"Get down here! NOW!"

"Lilly, really, forget it, okay? She doesn't like me and that's all there is to it. Don't make me humiliate myself even more than I already have."

"She likes you! Now get down here NOW!" she was screaming, burning my eardrums as she always did.

"Alright, alright!" I shouted over her.

 I got up off my bed and hung up, not caring to say good bye. I changed into my tux and ran out of my room, not caring to tie my bowtie. Maybe Lilly was right... but I would need to hurry to even have a chance to clear things up.

"Going?" Mother asked, smiling slightly. I nodded and ran out the door, flagging down a cab. I was ignored. I shivered, noticing my lack of an overcoat. The traffic outside was ridiculous; cars seemed to fill every inch of fifth avenue.  Finally, a cab maneuvered through the traffic and pulled up along the sidewalk. I opened the door and hopped into the foul-smelling cab. The cab-driver eyed my tux suspiciously. "Albert Einstein High School," I said to him. He glared at me. "On Bleeker. Get there as quick as possible, please." He nodded and pulled out onto 12th Ave., avoiding the traffic as best he could.

I dashed out of the cab after handing the driver some cash, not bothering to check if it was the right amount. He drove away, so I figured it was. I ran up the steps three at a time, trying my best not to step on any of the people who were sitting on them. I swung open the heavy doors and ran down the hall into the gym, greeted by white, white and more white. There were tons of people, subconsciously sectioned off into groups. Mia was no where in sight. I spotted Lilly by Boris and walked up to her. 

"Where's Mia?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.

"She left. You're late, you jackass." She said, angrily.

I fell back into a chair, cursing the amount of traffic that kept me from getting there earlier.

A/N: There! _Now_ it makes sense! Or at least I hope it does... right? Anyway, read and review! Pweez? It means so much to me!


	4. Confusion

A/N: Okay, okay, okay DON'T KILL ME I UPDATED! –Grins sheepishly- That was a really evil cliffie, wasn't it. But look, I updated now. 

Just in case you're a bit confused, Michael got there five mintues later than he was supposed to in the book, resulting in him missing Mia. So...yeah...hehe

Chapter 4 - Confusion

I walked home (or at least to the nearest subway station) in a complete daze. Mia didn't like me. If she liked me she would have waited longer. Right?

So I walked home from that nightmare of a dance, alone and without a ride. Lilly tried to persuade me to stay and get a ride home with her and her friends, but I declined. I needed to get out of there, fast. I finally reached the subway, and walked down the metal steps in no rush. I could hear the faint screeching of a passing subway below. I finally reached the bottom of the last flight of steps and slid my metro card through the slot.

The train was full of people who have probably just gotten off of work. I must have looked pretty out of place in my tux. I sat beside a young girl, no older than five, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She smiled at me and showed me her bag proudly and wordlessly, her eyes shining with delight. She was adorable. I forced a smile towards her and sighed as I leaned back and closed my eyes.

_Well, on the bright side, she broke up with Kenny, _I thought to myself, trying to bring some comfort into my worst nightmare. _But she hates me, and whatever kind of friendship we had now is certainly gone forever. God, I hate Lilly. Why can't she just mind her own business for once? If it wasn't for her huge lies I wouldn't even be in the situation. But what if this is all one huge mix-up? What if...?_

I shook head, becoming confused. I didn't understand a single thing about that whole day. It was all so very confusing.

I arrived home and sported a fake smile for my mother, who was still seated in the same place she was not even an hour earlier. She looked at me, and then looked at her watch. "Isn't it a little early for you to be home?" she asked skeptically.

"Yeah, well, you know how I hate those things," I replied. It wasn't exactly a lie; it just wasn't the whole truth. There is nothing wrong with that. My mother does not need to know everything about my love life, and how much it sucks. I undid my tie and unbuttoned my shirt, flopping onto the couch.I hate shirts. They're too _constricting_ or something. I usually lack a shirt when I'm in my own house. Lilly despised that. She always complained that I should be decent when her friends are over. Of course, I usually was, except when Mia came over. You see, I have pretty nice abs (not the best, but hey, I'm not a bodybuilder here). That's the one thing I'm pretty confident about. I mean, I couldn't help but show off a little bit when she was over. I _am_ of the male gender (despite whatever Josh Richter might say about me).

I turned on the TV, attempting to keep my mind off Mia. _Maybe she did notice..._

"Did you pack?" Mom interrupted my thoughts, keeping her eyes focused on her book. 

"Pack?"

She looked up at me in disbelief. "For Florida!" she almost shouted. Oh yeah, Florida. Great, just what I needed, a family vacation. Let me let you in on a little secret: The Moscovitz's family vacations are anything but enjoyable. I basically am stuck sleeping in the same room as Lilly for two weeks. Seriously, it's a nightmare.

"Don't worry, I packed," I confirmed. I was telling the truth, I swear. I had packed my bags long ago, knowing I would forget. I know myself all too well.

"Are you sure?" she asked, not taking her threatening gaze off of me. She could be really scary when she wanted to.

"Yes! Geez..." I retorted, getting up off the couch and walking into my room. I didn't need to be queried right then, I needed to be left alone.

"You two are the most pathetic people I have ever seen!" Lilly barged into my room, not taking the time to knock. I took off my headphones and looked up at my little sister's face, which was bright pink.

"Huh?" was my intellectual answer.

"You and Mia, who else would I be talking about?"

"I'm the pathetic one? Why is Mia pathetic? I'm the one who's in love with a beautiful princess who is repulsed by me." I replied, my eyebrows furrowed in thought. What did she mean? She made this really strained yell and shook her head violently. She was starting to scare me. 

"You," she said, "are denser than she is!" What the hell was she talking about? Did she not _see_ the look on Mia's face when she saw my program? Did she see the way she ran away in sheer terror and shrieked "get off" when I tried to calm her down? Apparently my sister must being going blind.

She sighed, giving up on her argument, which is very rare for Lilly. "If," she continued, "you start pining for her all over again on this stupid vacation I will suffocate you in your sleep." I smiled sarcastically and continued listening to my Brand New CD (A/N: no, that doesn't mean it's new, it's a band from Long Island...seriously someone asked me once "Oh, you mean the brand new Mya CD? No people, it's a band). She stomped out of my room, outraged.

Tomorrow was going to be a very interesting day.

A/N: I know this chapter seems a little bit discouraging. But don't worry, it will get better (eventually).

I might have to speed up the little vacation as you can see. Don't worry I won't have much of the vacation, then there would be too many pointless chapters.

Metalhead13: OK, first of all, don't call me Keren. Sunghai (yes, that's his actual name) calls me that –_cringes-. Second of, I'm getting it calm down! And look, here you are in the shout outs/ins...whatever you want to call them.  
Noire1: Yay for peace! Yay, a new chapter! Did you like this one?  
Roxy-punk-princess: Uh...er....-squirms-...well, he didn't go find her. Nope nope nope. But he will get things straightened out... remember he _is_ Michael.   
saima: Aw, now I feel all evil and stuff. I'm so sorry! Really I am! See, I updated asap!  
Scupo: Continuing!  
LstCharmed1: Yay for the understand-ed-ness!  
KrystinePotterLover: Yes, but this is where I sort of twisted it around.  
Jedusor: Thanks! Yes, my friend Metalhead13 writes HP stuff all the time and she always is complaining about reviews. The HP fan-dom is HUGE, so I guess it's more difficult to get reviews.  
aPPle-FrrEAk: hehe...uh no that's the thing that changed...hehe  
sheepish: I didn't like that ending either. Cliffies are evil and I don't know why I use them. I can just never resist a good cliffie.  
  
_


	5. Old Times

I sat on the plane ride home from an uneventful vacation. I was not at all surprised at how bored I was. I was not in the mood to have fun and get some sun (no rhyme intended). Not that there was actually any sun. It rained the whole time. That's what I hate about Florida: it always rains. Not that it mattered to me. I was in the mood to stay on the internet and be anti-social anyway. The fact that I had gotten a laptop as a Christmas present made that vacation a lot easier. 

Then, there I was, on the way back to Manhattan, and I was forced to think about the object of m affections once again.

I had tried my best not to think about her all through vacation, but that turned out to be all too difficult. But when I would come back home I would be _forced to think of her, to see her. After all, she is my little sister's best friend. _

And how awkward would that be? To see the girl that you loved, but she was so repulsed by you that when you professed your feeling for her she ran into the bathroom in horror and disgust. I'm not looking forward to it.

I tried my best to forgive Lilly, really I did. Maybe she truly didn't know that Mia didn't send those letters. 

The again, maybe she did. You can never really trust Lilly. Who would even try anyway? She's Lilly.

She says she is very frustrated with us and how pathetic we are. Honestly, what did she know? She's still set on the idea that Mia has, and I quote her on this, "wild and passionate feelings" for me. Okay, so she was being sarcastic at the time, but she was still going crazy. Lilly's pretty dense herself if she doesn't realize by now how much Mia does _not_ want to be with me. 

She was losing her mind during the whole vacation. She freaked out when she found out how much they charged her for two liters of soda. Honestly Lilly, let it go. I think she just likes to boycott stuff.

Oh yeah, and humiliate me. We couldn't forget that now, could we?

No, of course not.

Lilly assured me that Mia wouldn't be home until the day before school starts, which was January 19th. Not that it made much of a difference. It was already the seventeenth. I guess Lilly was just tired of my moping and wanted to help.

And, as you can guess, that's all I was doing for those couple of weeks. Mope, mope, mope, and mope some more. Moping, as I have found out, is very depressing. Honestly, why did I bother? I only made myself more and more miserable. I could've at least gone out and gotten myself a date or _something. You know... a rebound or something. Not that there was ever an actual relationship between me and Mia so it wouldn't have exactly been a _rebound_._

But no. No dates for Michael. No sir. Michael sat in his room and typed on his damn laptop computer that he has grown to worship..

Now I've taken to calling myself in the third person.

Oy.

_Flashback_

_Sixteen year old Michael walked on the city sidewalk, overshadowed by the buildings surrounding me. The moon was full and visible for once through the countless skyscrapers that usually blocked the sky. I needed time to think. Emma, my girlfriend, was moving to __England__. **Moving**. My head began to pound and I slammed my foot into the cement, yelling out loud in frustration. What was I supposed to do? Obviously, I didn't want her to go. She couldn't go....she couldn't..._

_But she was. My cell rang, abruptly interrupting my train of thought. It's Josh, I thought to myself. It's Josh and I do not want to deal with that jackass of a friend right now. _

_It kept on ringing, as if he was refusing to give up. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket._

_"Hello?!" I answered irritated._

_"Geez Michael, don't have a cow. It's only me." I sighed with somewhat relief to realize it was my ever-annoying sister, Lilly, and not the full-of-himself jackass I was expecting. Honestly, you would think you would enjoy your so called "friends" company but I was constantly annoyed by their immature antics. You would think being in the popular crowd without being on the football team would be extremely enjoyable but no, not for Michael Moscovitz. Hell, I had to be smart enough to realize every damn guy I hang out with women-using jerks who enjoyed making fun of the poor little freshmen who had to endure them. I promised myself I wouldn't let them torture Lil' and her friend Mia next year. No one made fun of my sister, but I wasn't quite sure why I was so fond of Mia. _

_"Hello? Earth to Michael-land?" I snapped back to reality._

_"What?"_

_"Where are you?"_

_"I don't know... some street?"_

_"Real descriptive. Honestly, Michael, it's already dark outside. Strolling the street of __New York City__ at night is not a good idea."_

_"Is that what you called me for?"_

_"Yes."_

_"I can take care of myself, Lilly."_

_"I don't care about you're well being. You have to make me dinner."_

_"Alright, I'm on my way."_

_I hung up and proceeded reluctantly down the deserted street. I turned down an alleyway to stall myself. I didn't want to get home anytime soon. I looked up to see Emma, and she wasn't alone. _

_No, she definitely was **not alone.**_

_She had her arms wrapped around the unmistakable figure of Josh._

_And she was kissing him._

_Hell, they were making out. They did not notice me as I stood there, mouth hanging open. I felt my heart being ripped to shreds. I felt like bursting out into tears._

_She pulled away and smiled at him. "I love you" she said to him firmly. She had pretty much grabbed my heart and threw it on the floor. She turned around to see me standing there. There was shock and sorrow on her face as she ran toward me. Josh was still smirking. No regret showed in his face. _

_I turned away and walked toward my apartment, ignoring her clawing at my shoulder. She was yelling in my ear, but I ignored her._

_I felt a sudden surge of hatred for both of them and I had no idea where it'd come from. I needed to get out of there._

_All I could think is: How dare she._

_She was gone the next day._

I woke up and rubbed my eyes groggily. I was still on the plane, thank God. It was only a dream. A dream that really did happen, but still a dream all the same. I did not want to relive that part of my life over again. It was all one big nightmare. Why does Josh pick on me so damn much? Because I used to be part of _his crowd but then, as he puts it, I "went all geek on him". Not like I care. I hated that entire period of my life. I hated my entire circle of friends and my girlfriend was cheating on me with Josh the entire time we were going out._

Not that my life was any better now, but at least I have friends I can count on.

A/N: There! Sorry it took a little long to update! I hope this was a good chappie!


	6. Failure by Design

It was the day I had been informed Mia was coming home. I was sitting on the couch, surfing the web on my laptop. I would've gone in my room but my mother had pointed out that I spend too much time in my room. So I was out of my room for once, but no way was she making me part with the laptop, so I brought it with me. Of course, I had to endure Lilly sitting on the couch across from me watching a Lifetime movie, but what could I do? The movie wasn't the problem it was the fact that Lilly was telling the main character how stupid she was for getting back with Jake. Lilly likes to tell people how stupid they are rather than tell them about their good aspects. 

I think the main reason Mia's so uncomfortable about herself is because she grew up with Lilly telling her all the things wrong about her. Of course, the things wrong about her are the exact things I came to love. I don't even think there's anything wrong with her anymore. 

Anyway, it's not that Lilly's a bad person, she just likes to reassure herself she's a genius by analyzing every aspect of someone else, then finding all the bad things.

Sometimes I think Lilly needs a good psycho-analyzing.

"Michael, do you really love Mia?" she asked so suddenly I almost jumped.

"Huh?" I asked. Didn't she know the answer to this question already?

"Do you really _love_ Mia?" she asked, agitated she had to repeat her question.

I was reluctant about answering. I _knew_ the answer, but was it a trick question? "Yes..." I said reluctantly, lowering my tone of voice to a minimum. She turned her head and looked at me in the eye.

"More than you loved Emma?"

I sighed. "Don't—." 

"Don't avoid the question, Michael." She interrupted.

"More than Emma? Hell yeah. Even when we were on good terms I didn't love her like I love Mia. God, I still love Mia even though she shattered my heart to pieces. Emma was probably the worst thing that ever happened to me."

"Is Mia still the best?" Lilly asked. She was taking this so calmly, I was waiting for her to burst and scream at me. For what, I didn't know, but it wasn't like Lilly to take something like this so calmly.

"Sadly, yes."

She grabbed the phone from the coffee table and started dialing. What was she doing? I panicked.

"Lil, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" I shouted at her, sitting up abruptly. She calmly handed the ringing phone to me and smiled mischievously.

"Tell her what you just told me." It continued to ring.

"No way, Lilly. No freaking way." I sat, standing up and backing away. She shoved the phone in my face.

"Yes way. Or else I'll tell her myself. I honestly think she'd rather hear it from you than from me... or else she might think you're a wimp..." she rambled on. "And you _know_ I can tear you to shreds if I wanted to." Of course, she should have known there was no purpose. I already told Mia my feelings for her and that didn't turn out all that well. But I grabbed the phone in frustration anyway. I had no idea what the hell I was going to say. Maybe apologize for the poem, but I definitely wasn't about to admit I still loved her.

She smiled righteously as I lifted the phone to my ear. "Hello?" I heard Helen Thermopolis's voice through the receiver.

"Uh...hi." I said weakly. "Er..." Lilly gave me a fierce look and pinched my lower arm. Hard. "Ow!" I mouthed. She pointed at the phone meaningfully. "Erm, Is Mia around?" I managed to sputter.

"No, she's at princess lessons right now," her mother answered skeptically. I guess Mia didn't get called by guys all that much. "She was supposed to be home hours ago..." she muttered under her breath.

"Huh?" I said.

"Nothing... I'll tell her to call you back... whoever you are."

"Michael, Lilly's brother."

"Oh, Michael!" she exclaimed, as if finally realizing who I was.  Of course, that's exactly what she _was doing. "Oh, okay, I'll tell her. Bye."_

"Thanks. Bye."

I hung up and turned to Lilly, who, by the way, was giving me the evil eye.

"She's at princess lessons." I said triumphantly.

"Her Grandmere came home with her? She just got home and already with the damn princess lessons!" she exclaimed. She walked off in a fury, but turned back towards me as an afterthought. "You _will_ tell her," she finished, and stomped off.

I sat back down on the couch and sighed. What did her mother mean by "she should've been home hours ago?" I knew her Grandmere was the type of person to keep her in that dreaded pink room for longer than expected, but _hours? I mean, her Mom sounded sort of worried on the phone, or maybe it was just me. Maybe I was getting worked up over nothing._

_Mia sat and pretended to listen to her Grandmere lecture her on how Genovia did not need parking meters. What Grandmere failed to notice is that Mia had brought her CD player along with her and had put the headphones on while she wasn't looking. She had grabbed a hat (a hideous one, but oh well) off the table and slipped it on over her ears to hide them. She scribbled random thoughts in her diary while listening to Brandnew. She didn't even want to hear Grandmere's voice at all. She had enough going on in her life at moment. Lilly had called earlier inviting her to her house, but Mia refused, stating she had major jetlag, which was technically true, but the only reason she wasn't at Lilly's at that very moment was that Mia didn't feeling like leading herself into such an awkward situation._

_The truth was she was avoiding confronting Michael, who had made fun of her feeble attempt to convey her feelings to him._

_Grandmere reached across, grabbed the hat off Mia's head, and continued rambling. Mia slowly took the headphones off and hid her CD player in her bag, hoping Grandmere hadn't spotted them._

_"...so you can see why it's only rational you move back to Genovia with me."_

_Mia froze. "Wh-wha-what?!" she stuttered, practically falling off the pink chair she was sitting on._

_"Why, Amelia, haven't you been listening?! We can't ship you back and forth between here and Genovia for every ball and event!  It would be much easier if you moved to Genovia and were school within the palace. Don't you understand?"_

_"No," Mia said simply. "No, I don't think I can understand why you would do this." She jumped up out of her chair and ran out of the room. She ignored her Grandmere shouting behind her and the guards chasing her. She was grateful Lars had left the Plaza that particular day. She kept running till she was five blocks away and was certain they had given up._

I thought for a minute and shook my head. She must have just went somewhere with her Grandmere or something. She had to be. Wherever she was, it had gotten me out of a very confusing and embarrassing conversation that I never planned on having.

Watch you, on the one's and two's.  
Through a window in a well lit room.  
Become a recluse.  
And I blame myself cause I make things hard and you're just trying to help.  
And when I wake up, you're the first to call.  
This is one more late night basement song.  
And I'm so sore, my voice has gone to hell, and this is one more sleepless  
night,

  
Because we don't believe in filler baby.  
If I could I'd sit this out.

  
(This is over when I say it's over.)  
This is a lesson in procrastination.   
I kill myself because I'm so frustrated.  
And every single second that I put it off, means another lonely night I got  
to race the clock.  
(I ignore it and it ignores me too.)  
What say we go and crash your car?  
And every time I leave you go and lock the door.  
So I walk myself picking at a chip on my shoulder, I'm another day late and  
one year older.  
It's failure by design.

  
And we just want sleep, but this night is hell.  
I'm sick and sunk and I blame myself because I make things hard and you're  
just trying to help.  
I got no gas; I'm winding out my gears.  
This is one more day on the verge of tears.  
And now my head hurts and my health is a joke.  
And now I got to stop cause the headphones broke.

  
And we don't believe in filler.   
Baby, if I could I'd sit this out.  
(This is over, when I say it's over.)  
This is a lesson in procrastination.  
I kill myself because I'm so frustrated.   
And every single second that I put it off, means another lonely night I  
gotta race the clock.   
(I ignore it and it ignores me too)  
What say we go and crash your car?  
And every time I leave you go and lock the door.  
And I walk myself picking at a chip on my shoulder.  
I'm another day late and one year older, it's failure by design.

  
I'm out of everything.  
No one sleeps until we get this shit out on the shelves.  
It's late, I'm faltering.  
But this time I got nothing to say besides...  
DO DO DO, DO DO DO

A/N: I think that song fits this chapter so well. By the way, it's by Brand New, if you're wondering. It's not mine, sadly. Jesse Lacey is a genius....maybe I should go to his house. It's not far from where I live...I've been to Levittown.  
He he he he.  
So anyway, the next chapter will be up soon. I already have this whole story figured out so it shouldn't take long. The next chapter also has a little to do with horses, because, you know, I'm so obsessed with them and all.

So...uh REVIEW! Yeah, there we go. REVIEW!


	7. Sweet Horses and Frantic Parents

A/N: I admit....it took kind of long to get this chapter up. But it's up, and that's all that matters. I promise, a kiss _is_ coming in future chapters.  
So anyway...horse in this chapter (cringe...Maureen's going to kill me with this horse part) is based on a real horse. I couldn't resist, I got the idea for it and I sort of based the horse on Ockie, the best horsie in the whole world :-)  
Even if he's a bit crazy. I love him anyway.  
Some this kind of switches point of views, but I hope it's easy enough to figure out when they do switch.   
OK, now on with the chapter before I bore you all to death with my pointless ramblings...

          Mia walked down the busy street, ignoring all the sounds of noisy cabs and buses around her. She wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled her thin sweater tighter around her. It was freezing outside. She found herself wishing she had a warmer coat. The streetlights were on already and the sun was beginning to set. She couldn't hide from Grandmere forever. She had to go home e_ventually._ She sighed.

          How could Grandmere be so shallow and emotionless? Manhattan was her home; all her friends were there. She couldn't _move_. Hadn't her own father insured her she didn't have to? Then again, with the whole Michael-making-fun-of-her situation, it might not be such a bad thing to move away. She couldn't avoid Michael forever, could she?

She stopped suddenly and leaned up against the nearest wall, banging her head in frustration. She was shivering and the penguin house, her normal place of refuge, would take _so_ long. Not to mention it's a _penguin_ house, so that's probably cold too. She looked at the building beside her. 

_Claremont__ _Riding___ _Academy___,_

the sign read. She had heard of it before. It must have been the back entrance, since she remembered the front entrance being right on Fifth. She opened the wooden door and peeked in. She could feel the warmth of the stable on her cheeks and couldn't resist it. She walked in cautiously and looked around. In the stall next to her, a huge, imposing black stallion nickered sweetly to her, sticking his head over the cloth stall guard and nudging her gently. She stepped back, a little frightened. She usually loved horses, but he was so _big._ She reached out cautiously and scratched his soft nose. His nameplate read:

October Star  
"Ockie"

"Hey Ockie...you're a handsome guy, aren't you?" she said, as if talking to her own cat, Fat Louie. "I'm having a bad day....do horses have those? I bet you do. Like when someone whips you really hard or uses to sharp spurs? Grandmere hates horses you know... she would probably tell me to get away from you right now..." She rambled on. She sat down in front of the stall and he leaned over, his head resting on her should as he rocked back and forth slightly. 

"They want me to move..." she said, tears streaming down her face now. "They want me to move to Genovia, away from here. I love it here. No matter how much Michael hates me." She scratched the huge horse's forehead absentmindedly and rested her head on his cheek for reassurance. She needed some support, even if it was from a horse she barely knew...

Helen Thermopolis paced the living room frantically, scared half to death of what might happen to Mia. "She's in Manhattan after dark..." she shrieked. "AFTER DARK!"

Frank Gianini hung up the phone once again. "Ronnie hasn't seen her either...don't worry about her...she's a smart girl..." he trailed off.

"Sure she's smart! I _know_ she's smart! But she's in New York City, alone, after dark! Where is Lars?!" Helen sat on the couch suddenly and cradled her head in her hands. Frank wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort the poor woman.

"We'll find her," he said to her reassuringly. "Don't worry. We'll find her," he repeated.

"Maybe Lilly knows..." she mumbled, grabbing the phone off the hook and dialing the Moscovitz's.

The telephone's shrill ring ran throughout the apartment. "Michael, I'm busy...get the phone!" Lilly yelled from her room. Our parents had just run off to attend to one of their patients and we were home alone for a while. Home alone with Lilly.

How fun.

I groaned and grabbed the phone off my desk. "Hello?"

"Michael?" Helen Thermopolis's frantic voice said through the receiver.

"Mrs. Thermopolis?" I asked, puzzled. Why was she calling?

"Have you seen Mia lately?" she asked. She sounded worried.

"No... Why?"

"Well, she ran off during her princess lessons. No one knows where she is..." she explained reluctantly.

"Where's Lars???" I could feel the beads of sweat dripping from my forehead. It was already dark. No sane person went outside in Manhattan after dark. Whatever provoked her to run off must have been big.

"At the Plaza...if you see her, will you call? I'm really worried...." she trailed off. I could feel my heart start to beat harder and harder.

"Of course," I said. She hung up.

"What was that about?" Lilly asked from the doorway.

"Mia's missing," I said, flopping onto my bed and trying to calm myself down.

"She's _what_?!" Lilly shrieked her eyes wide.

"Missing..." Damn it...damn it...damn it... 

Lilly shook her head in disbelief muttering something under her breath. I heard her bedroom door slam.

I walked into the kitchen to grab a snack only to be reminded of Mia as I saw my very favorite picture of her on the fridge. She was in her baggy pajamas sitting in her sleeping bag with Lilly sitting next to her. They were both smiling.

Damn, she's gorgeous.

And _damn_, I'm so pathetic. I'm acting like a lovesick puppy and I keep making a fool out of myself. _I need to stop worrying about her. She'll be fine. She's really smart. She won't stay on the streets. Please don't stay on the streets._

I'm one big fool. And one of these days I'm going to make a fool out of myself in front of Mia.

Oh, wait, scratch that. Already happened.

I sighed and opened the fridge, trying to rid my mind of all pathetic thoughts. Needless to say, it didn't work very well.

The doorbell rang. I dashed to the door, thinking it was Felix there about the band we'd talked about putting together over vacation. I swung the door open to see...

Mia standing there, with tears streaming down her face.

A/N: Cliffie! Mwahahahaha!   
Ahem...sorry. I kind of....lost focus. So...uh...you like? REVIEW!


	8. Converse Shoes and Eavesdroppers

            Previously:

The doorbell rang. I dashed to the door, thinking it was Felix there about the band we'd talked about putting together over vacation. I swung the door open to see...

Mia standing there, with tears streaming down her face.

Chapter 8 – Converse Shoes and Eavesdropping

I stood there with my mouth wide open as I stared at her in shock. She had a look of sincere embarrassment etched in her eyes that she cast downward. She seemed to be attempting to focus on her Converse All-Stars instead of me. She didn't even want to set her eyes on me. It made me feel an inch tall. I hated that feeling. I gained consciousness and exerted effort into breathing as I stood there perplexed. _At least she's safe _I thought to myself. _She's probably here for Lilly's support, not mine._ I realized her shivering and steeped away from the door, motioning her to come in. I didn't speak. It seemed to risky.

She obliged and stepped in quietly, still staring down at her shoes. To my relief, Lilly came rushing out of her room to see what was going on. She gave one quick glance at me and Mia, analyzed Mia's condition and grabbed her arm, wrenching her back into her room and slamming the door.

I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful she didn't leave me there to deal with Mia. I hate to see Mia sad, and I would probably be any help. I would just frustrate myself. Besides the fact that I freeze up every time I'm near her, due to her knowing my feelings for her and not requiting them.

I was surprised Lilly didn't take advantage of the perfect opportunity to humiliate me. Maybe for once she actually wanted to help her depressed friend out before going through with her vile schemes. Maybe she was hatching a plan right at that very moment as Mia spilled her guts to her.

Or maybe she was doing exactly what she always does: psycho-analyzing Mia to death.

There was only one way to find out: eavesdrop. Okay, I know it's wrong, but in desperate times, my skills (eavesdropping, picking locks, hacking, sending viruses, et cetera) are very tempting.

It's not like I was eavesdropping for any bad reasons. I was just concerned, that's all.

I stepped towards the hollow, wooden door and leaned my ear up against it. I could hear voices clearly.

"What's wrong?" Lilly asked, being genuinely caring. I smiled at my sister's ability to be more than a critical feminist, but a caring friend. I wasn't all that surprised by it, either. I knew she had some sensitivity under all that bossy personality. "You're parents are looking for you, you know. They're scared out of their minds for you." I heard bedsprings bend as someone, presumably Lilly, sat on the bed.

"I know," Mia sniffled.

"So what the hell is going on that you felt the need to run away from your Grandmere when you know it's going to get dark? I mean, I know she's horrible but... You could not have been more stupid." Well, she had to criticize something. She _is_ Lilly, after all.

"I know," Mia repeated quietly. "Its just that..." There was a pause and I heard muffled footsteps. She was pacing.

"Lilly she wants me to move to Genovia," she said in a rush. I sighed quietly as my legs seemed to shatter to pieces. I fell to the floor, being as soft as possible, careful not to let them hear. I rubbed my temples. This could not be happening. Not that it mattered anyway. It would probably make things ten times easier for me if she moved. But I didn't want her to move when we were on such awkward terms. But I ruined the semi-friendship we had, so there was no hope for non-awkward terms.

"You what?!" Lilly's shriek brought me back to reality.

"Uh-huh." Mia said grimly, sniffling.

"Didn't your dad say you didn't have to move to Genovia a long time ago?"

"Well...I don't know. Maybe he changed his mind? All I know is she's forcing me to move to Genovia." I got up and started to walk away back into my room when I heard something interesting.

"No one can force you to move somewhere, Mia. Why can't you be more assertive? I mean, argue a little. Don't just give in and run away crying like it's a sure thing... Or are you being passive about it because you see it as an opportunity to get away from Michael?"

"Who said I was being passive?" Mia said.

"You ran away. You didn't confront them, did you? You just ran. Not only did you run, but you were stupid about it in the process."

"I'm not moving, even if it gets rid of my problems with Michael," Mia said quietly. "Sure, I won't have to see him anymore but it doesn't change the fact that my heart's kind of broken anyway..." she trailed off. Wait, her heart was broken? Why?

"_Kind of_ broken? Puh-lease..." Lilly said, sounding disgusted. "Don't lie to me. You're crushed. And whether you believe it or not, you crushed him when you ran away like that. If you could just go back and tell him how you feel—."

"What am I supposed to say? 'Michael, I love you too.' I can't just go up to him and say that. And how do we know for sure he wasn't making fun of me, anyway? What if I was right and he was totally joking with the whole letter thing? I mean, he might not have meant it in a harsh way. He might have thought my letter was a joke too but... If it turns out he was joking and I tell him how I feel then I'll totally humiliate myself. I wouldn't be able to hide it either. You see how red my face gets when I'm embarrassed." She stopped herself from rambling on and sighed. I could feel my entire mind plunge into confusion. _What did she just say? Was she saying she ran away because she thought I was joking? Does she honestly thing I'm that mean?_

_Wait, does that mean she did send the cards?_

"And there's the nose thing," Lilly said. This only served to confuse me more.

"How did you know about--?"

"Your nostrils? How could I not? But, Mia, he really does think that someone else sent those cards. He was humiliated when you ran away like that. If you would just go up to him and tell him you did send the cards and you did mean what they said... well he wouldn't respond how you think he would. He'd be really happy."

And you know what? She was right. She was _so right. I was elated. I felt a huge smile spread across my face as I slowly walked into my room and closed the door quietly. _She was right. Everything Lilly told me was right.__

I felt a wave of confidence come over me. I never really had that much confidence in my looks or my people-skills. I'm more confident in my talents, such as computers and music.

And I was never confident about Mia until I found out she liked me.

Now I just needed to tell her.

I needed to tell her before she left. The realization of her moving swept over me like a bad storm. My confidence just washed away as I realized even if I did tell her, she was moving. Just like Emma. _Don't compare Mia to Emma I thought. __They're two completely different people._

I heard the door open as Lilly's voice rang out throughout the hallway. She was always a naturally loud person.

"You stay here. I'll be back," she said. "I need to drop this off with Boris." 

"But Lilly--," Mia protested. I cracked open my door and set one foot in the hallway.

"You can't come, Mia. I'm sorry. If someone sees you outside then they'll take you back home. I thought you didn't want that."

"I'm not going anywhere," I said nonchalantly. Mia looked horrified at the thought.

"Lilly please..." she pleaded.

"_Stay_," Lilly said as she closed grabbed her coat and slammed the door. Mia's shoulders slumped. She avoided eye contact with me and stared at her feet once again.

"Um," she said quietly, "hey." I saw her trademark deer-in-the-headlights look and attempted to help her feel more comfortable.

"She'll be back soon..." I said. She was leaning up against the wall, fidgeting with her watch.

"So, uh, this is kind of awkward," I said, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Okay," she said shyly. I couldn't stand it anymore. I needed things out in the open before I exploded.

"Mia, why did you run away?" I asked, attempting to break the ice. I felt I already knew the answer. She looked up at me for the first time. She was obviously shocked by my blunt question and took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"Um, well," she looked back at her feet and blushed, "You-were-making-fun-of-me," she said in a rush. She seemed uncertain.

"No, I wasn't." I said. I leaned back against the wall so I was right next to her. She looked up at me in confusion.

"You what?"

"I wasn't making fun of you. I meant what I said." I paused for a moment to try to read her reaction, but she was completely blank. "Did you?"

She looked up at me and smiled, nodding her head. "Yeah." She couldn't seem to believe it.

Then I did the thing I've been waiting to do for what seemed like forever.

I bent down and kissed her.

A/N: Ok, it's a bit of a cliffhanger, but not that bad. You should've seen the place where I was going to stop. Now _that_ would have been really evil of me.  
But I felt like being nice today. :-)  
So I'll have the next chapter up eventually. Yes, there is another chapter. Remember, we still have the whole MOVING issue to deal with.

So, uh, go ahead and click that little purple-ish button and give me a nice long review. You know I love all my reviewers. They all rock.

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	9. Phone Calls and Sleeping Troubles

A/N: Wow. I suck. I haven't updated in FOREVER. One whole month... This was such a tough chapter to write, seriously. I hope it came out OK.

**Chapter Nine: Phone Calls and Sleeping Troubles**

You know, I always wondered what kissing Mia would be like. Well, guess what. It's better than what I expected. Ten times better. And the fact that she kissed back made it even better. To my disappointment, she pulled away suddenly and buried her face in my chest.  I looked down at the top of her head, puzzled.

"Mia, what's wrong?" I asked. She looked up at me, a tear rolling down her cheek. I brushed it away with my thumb.

"Oh, Michael, you have no idea," she sobbed. She shook her head and wiped her eyes. I finally realized what she was talking about.

She. Was. Moving. Damn it, of course once I actually get the girl of my dreams, she's taken away from me. I mean, no one could stand to see me happy, right? They all take enjoyment in my despair. 

"I know," I said softly. I could feel a migraine coming on, but I figured the fact that I held Mia in my arms would keep me sane for the moment.

She shook her head violently. "No, you don't."

"You're moving."

"Yeah. Wait, wha-?"

"My eavesdropping skills are plentiful," I replied simply.

"Now, of all times," she muttered under her breath. She pulled away and stared at the ceiling. "They had to choose now of all times to make me move to Genovia!" She looked up at me. "I don't want to go home yet," she sniffed. "Can't I stay here?" she pleaded. I caved. How could I say no with her gray eyes staring at me like that?

"For tonight," I said. "But my parents get back tomorrow afternoon...and if they see you here they'll send you home and I'll be bound to my room for the rest of my time living her, and I don't want that to happen." She seemed somewhat relieved. "And we'll figure out a solution to this whole mess..." Of course, I had absolutely no idea what that solution would be at the time, but I didn't tell her that.

At that exact moment, Lilly barged in and froze. She saw Mia crying up against the wall and me standing beside her and shook her head. "God, Moscovitz, what did you do now?" she asked accusingly.

"Nothing!" I said defensively, but added as a second thought, "well, except, you know..."

Lilly smirked. "I see. It's about time. But Mia, for God's sake, why the hell are you crying? Be happy! I swear, I can't stand any more depression."

"I still have to move."

"Oh... well, seriously Mia, we'll get you out of it. You know I always put up a good argument." So true. How do I know? I usually lose, even if I'm right.

"But we already made a compromise! He promised!"

"Promised what?" I asked her, looking down at her sympathetically.

"That I wouldn't have to move. He promised..." I inferred she was talking about her Dad. "But what if Grandmere made him change her mind!" She sobbed. I put my arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. I knew Lilly was probably rolling her eyes, but I didn't bother to look. I didn't care. "Thanks for letting me stay here tonight..." she said gratefully. Lilly gave me a questioning look. I glared at her and she shrugged. 

"Uh, no problem," she said. "But you're sleeping in _my_ room." She gave me another accusing glare.

____________________________________________________________________

Helen picked up the phone on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Helen. It's Phillipe."

"Is she back?" Helen asked, hoping he would reply affirmatively.

"No," he replied. Helen sighed. "But we finally found out why she ran away..."

"Yes?"

"My mother's making her move to Genovia." 

"_What?!" Helen shrieked. "Phillipe, we had an agreement. Why wasn't I consulted first?"_

"She didn't even tell me! And she's being ridiculously stubborn. I can't reason with her!"

"No," Helen said as calmly as possible.

"She already booked a flight for tomorrow."

"And you're not going to stop her?!" Helen shouted.

"I've tried. I've tried endlessly but she won't even tell me what provoked her to make this decision," Phillipe pleaded.

"She's can't take my daughter away from me," Helen reasoned.

"She's going to."

"Phillipe..."

"Wait. Helen, listen. For now, there's nothing we can do. She's leaving as soon as she gets back. But no way is she staying there for good...yet. I'll get her to cave in...somehow."

"You better," Helen said threateningly and hung up.

____________________________________________________________________

"Um, Michael?" I heard a soft voice whisper. I opened one eye groggily and smiled. Mia was standing by my bed, biting her nails nervously.

"Huh?" I replied, rubbing my eyes and sitting up. She saw the fatigue in my eyes and stepped back.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have woken you... I can leave..." she said even softer than before. She was blushing.

"No, don't. What's wrong, Thermopolis? Can't sleep?"

She shook her head no. I sat there for a minute, pondering what o do next. Finally, I moved over and patted the bed beside me, motioning for her to lie down. She bit her lip. "Lilly'd kill me."

"So? It's not that much of a big deal. You can't sleep in that bed, so I'm offering you a more comfortable one." I smirked. She laughed and gave in, snuggling into the covers beside me. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her, burying my face in her cherry-scented hair.

She was asleep in ten minutes.

And I swear, that was the best nights sleep I've ever had.

Hands Down.

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